Photo from TEDx event (see below for details).

I've written over 100 educational scripts for ABC Mouse covering every area of curriculum, from science to music to language arts. I've also worked as an editor and curriculum designer, a mentor for the Fullerton School District, and a TEDx presentation designer.

These screenshots are from a script written for ABC Mouse. Scripts written to meet curriculum goals are especially challenging. Content, entertainment, and retention have to be balanced. Too much content and you lose the child's interest; too much entertainment, and you lose the educational value. Too much repetition is boring; not enough, and the learning won't stick.

 

My daughter, Nara, wrote a fantasy novel when she was 11, and the sequel when she was 13. She asked me to be her mentor/editor, which proved to be a life-changing experience for me. Her novels won many indie-industry awards and led to an invitation to do a TEDx presentation. I provided design and visual collateral for Medusa's Guide to Novel Writing, the TEDx Talk which Nara wrote.

 

I'm also working with Nara to create a short story curriculum for middle schoolers. It's more important than ever for children to learn how to tell their own stories—fiction and creative nonfiction—and to appreciate the different stories others have to tell.

In 2019, Nara was awarded a Dragon Kim Fellowship. In June 2019 we shared the curriculum with a group of 4th and 5th graders in the Fullerton School District. The results were amazing. We hope to publish a book of their stories soon.

I love teaching graphic novel storytelling to middle school, junior high and high school students. One collection of stories, created at The Learning Collective, won the Best of Show Rosette at the Los Angeles County Fair. 

I also enjoy teaching Picture Writing to young children. Sometimes, when kids struggle to find the words, starting with an image can help—an image they create, using line and color and shape to express their emotions. Then they simply write about what they see. It's amazing to witness the whimsical, concrete, and profound poems they create. The above picture poem was created during The Book of You Story Camp sponsored by the Dragon Kim Foundation.